The Watches of Switzerland Group (WOS) acquired online watch publication, Hodinkee, “with the goal of supporting Hodinkee’s continued operation as a leader in the watch community,” the U.K.-based watch and jewellery retailer said in a statement Friday. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Benjamin Clymer, who founded Hodinkee in 2008, will return to lead the watch enthusiast website
Hodinkee
Hodinkee, based in New York, owns a popular watch enthusiast website, a print magazine, a watch insurance service, and a retail operation in which it partners with watch brands to produce limited edition products. This last business was controversial among the website’s loyal following. It will soon shut down. The acquisition also marks the return of Hodinkee founder, Benjamin Clymer, who left the company in 2020. In his own statement on the Hodinkee website about the acquisition, he said he will again be the major decision maker of the business he founded as a blog in 2008.
“We’re gonna sit back from retail and let our partners at Watches of Switzerland do the selling,” Clymer said. “We’ll do the writing and the special things that only we can do. That means we will now have more time and energy to focus on what we believe truly makes us special – the ability to inform, educate, and entertain.”
Brian Duffy, CEO of Watches of Switzerland Group
Piotrowski Photo
Clymer continued, “Will we cover brands that Watches of Switzerland doesn’t sell? Absolutely. Will we cover interesting retailers that have nothing to do with Watches of Switzerland? Absolutely. Will we now be able to activate, from time to time, in one of the group’s over 230 boutiques and showrooms around the world? Absolutely – and how amazing is that? To be able to do Hodinkee events all around the globe and have a home wherever we go has long been a dream of ours.”
Brian Duffy, CEO of Watches of Switzerland Group stressed that Hodinkee will run independently as an editorial media organization under WOS group’s umbrella.
“We align ourselves with brands who inspire us, and whose partnership offers a mutually beneficial outcome,” Duffy said. “Hodinkee distinguishes itself in the world of horology, and while our goal is to provide Hodinkee with a home to continue to flourish, we are proud to gain valuable insights from their groundbreaking team and operation.”
As part of the acquisition, WOS acquired the functions behind Hodinkee’s watch and jewelry insurance business, in partnership with Chubb insurance company.
In addition to Clymer’s return to the website publication, the statement notes that Hodinkee will remain in its New York headquarters and the current staff will remain as well “to help realize the brand’s mission of being the foremost destination for all things in the world of horology, making watches and information about them accessible to all.”
This is the latest in Watches of Switzerland aggressive move into the U.S., since 2017, when it acquired Mayors, a fine jewelry and watch retailer with 17 stores in the southeastern states. The following year, the company opened its first U.S. store in New York. Since then, it acquired pre-owned watch company, Analog:Shift, and luxury watch and jewelry retailer, Betteridge, based in Connecticut.
At the same time, WOS, which went public in 2019, opened Watches of Switzerland stores and partnered with watch brands to open mono-boutiques in several U.S. cities. Most recently, in May, WOS acquired the U.S. distribution rights for Italian luxury jewelry brand, Roberto Coin.
